


Mizimith

by HopeYouAlwaysStay



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Bilbo Baggins, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, BAMF Bilbo Baggins, Battle of Five Armies Fix-It, Bilbo is So Done, Dwarf & Hobbit Cultural Differences, Dwarven Ones | Soulmates, Emotionally Constipated Thorin, Fell Winter, Hobbit Culture & Customs, M/M, Mother Hen Dori, Nori is a Little Shit, Not Canon Compliant, Ori Is A Sweetheart, Ori Is a Little Shit, Poor Dwalin, Ri Family Feels, What's new?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-06-15 05:35:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15406131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeYouAlwaysStay/pseuds/HopeYouAlwaysStay
Summary: The fauntling was so small when Nori looked down at him, wide watery eyes and a poof of curly hair. He had been asked a favor, though, and by someone he owed a life debt to. He could no longer repay Belladonna, for she was long gone, but he could look after her son.(Also known as Nori tries to adopt Bilbo and unwittingly gets his brothers involved, leading to Bilbo being inducted into the 'Ri Clan. This all amounts to Thorin getting more of a burglar than he expected.)





	1. An Unexpected Letter

_Nori of the Clan 'Ri,_

_My dearest friend, if this letter is sent I dare not think of the events that have transpired to lead us to this point. I shall not delay the horrific news any longer, I do know how you hate beating around the bush when it comes to such things. I have instructed my father, the Thain Gerontius Took, to send this by pigeon should the deaths of myself and my husband come to pass. The last I saw you was in the Blue Mountains, where we parted ways and I returned home for my marriage. When I saved your life in Rohan it was a split-second decision, and one I have never regretted. Through the rest of my journey you were the most loyal of companions, and you taught me much about the sword and dagger. We had many fun adventures together in that time, but all things must come to an end, as such my life has. I leave behind my only legacy, my son, which is the sole purpose of me writing this letter._

_I birthed Bilbo ten years past, but I can feel a darkness stirring in the forest beyond the Brandywine River. I fear for the safety of my home and my child, and should you be reading this it appears those fears were well founded. Know that I ask this of you not lightly, but with complete confidence. With the passing of Bungo and I, Bilbo is completely alone. I fear I may be the cause of that to some extent, after all, not many hobbits run off six months before their wedding and return the day of with a sword strapped to their hip. Many called Bungo mad for marrying me still, and even yet some hobbits avoid my family. I fear for my son's wellbeing should I pass, and I would find comfort in requesting that you care for him._

_He resides in Bag End, the smial with the green door at the end of Bagshot Row in Hobbiton. Please return a letter to my father as soon as possible lest custody fall to a hobbit of poor intentions (which I fear may be the majority of those that agree to taking Bilbo). Merely address the letter to Thain Gerontius Took of Tuckborough and secure it to the leg of the carrying pigeon. I entrust my only faunt with you, my dear dwarf, and I believe you will do right by him. Know that I was grateful of your companionship and friendship until the end of my days, and that I hope to see you in a better place._

_With trust,_

_Belladonna Took Baggins_

_Of Bag End,_ _B_ _agshot Row_

 _Hobbiton,_ _The Shire_

* * *

_Thain Gerontius Took,_

_I, Nori of the Clan 'Ri, currently residing in the Blue Mountains, write to accept custody and guardianship of one Bilbo Baggins, son of Belladonna Took Baggins._

* * *

_Dori,_

_I am returning home for an indefinite amount of time with one other. Please expect us by autumn. I am currently residing in Gondor and am to make for the Shire immediately. Send Ori my greetings. Enclosed is a gift._

_Nori_

* * *

_Nori,_

_Mahal's beard, what are you doing in Gondor? I thought you were making trade in Bree? And now you mean to tell me you make for the Shire, of all places? How would you have me tell Ori all of this? That you're off gallivanting around the continent instead of returning home to your family who haven't seen hide or hair of you in three years? What do you mean, exactly, when you say your return home with another, have you found your One? Should I make preparations for a ceremony?_

_Ori enjoyed the fountain pen sent along with your last letter._

_Dori of the Clan 'Ri_

* * *

_Nadad,_

_Dori told me you're coming home soon from Gondor! What's it like there? I've never seen a Man up close before, Dori always hustles me away before I can get a good look. Don't worry, I'll sneak off to Bree someday! Are they really as scary as Dori makes them sound? Please send word soon! I haven't forgotten how to make your favorite tea, so hurry home!_

_The pen you sent was amazing! Was it from Gondor, or another place along the way?_

_Ori_

* * *

_Dori,_

_No, they're not my One, don't be foolish. I am fulfilling a life debt, you should realize the severity of the situation. It's none of your business. I made trade in Bree and continued on to Gondor, and now I'm turning around. Perhaps tell Ori the truth, he's far from a newborn. I'll be home soon, that's all you need to know._

_Nori_

* * *

_Nadadith,_

_Yes, I'll be home very soon. Gondor is a sight to see, you would love the libraries there. They're towering, with so many shelves even the Men need ladders to reach the top. There are thousands upon thousands of books, in all different languages apart from Khuzdul. I got the pen in one of their libraries, too. The Men aren't even half bad themselves, besides their manners and looks. Nothing is ever as scary as Dori makes it sound, so don't worry too much. I look forward to many cups of tea on my return home, and you better keep your word!_

_Nori_

* * *

_Nori,_

_You mustn't be so caustic, and I do, in fact, think it is my business. I'm you elder brother, it will always be my business._

_Dori of the Clan 'Ri_

* * *

_Dori,_

_Except it's not. Expect me soon._

_Nori_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nadad - Brother  
> Nadadith - Little Brother
> 
> So, the first chapter is an exchange of letters and that's the only one of the kind in this story. Next chapter we see Nori go to meet and pick up Bilbo, who's only 21 (maybe 13-ish in human years). You can see things are kind of tense between the elders of the 'Ri family, so hopefully a certain hobbit can help with that.


	2. Of Beads and Seals

_"I'll give you everything I have,_  
_I'll teach you everything I know,_  
_I promise I'll do better"_

The great, green door swung open, leaving Nori staring into thin air. He blinked, confused for a split second before his eyes shifted down to meet the saddest little hobbit he'd ever had the displeasure to see. Walking the streets of Hobbiton leading to Bagshot Row, he'd come across many lads and lasses, all happy and flittering about with flowers in their hair and hands and the like. Mahal knew the Shire had enough to go around. This one was so tiny, though, and it was clear he hadn't been eating well. It had taken Nori two whole seasons to get from Gondor to Belladonna's home, and the hobbits were well on their way to recovering from the Fell Winter. It was late spring and the crops were growing, the buds blooming, and the Shire was slowly healing. All except, it appeared, this fauntling.

All Nori could see was the poof of honey brown curls and eyes that reminded him so much of the lad's mother that it had Nori's chest aching. His cheekbones were far too pronounced, his face far too gaunt, and the dwarf could guess he hadn't been eating enough. From the famine, from which most others had recovered, or his own mourning, Nori had no clue. The little lad bowed slightly at the waist, keeping dark eyes trained on the dwarf.

"Bilbo Baggins, at your service."

His voice was timid, a soft whisper that Nori strained to hear. Little Bilbo watched him intently for another moment, "Are you the dwarf grandpa talked about?"

"Nori of the Clan 'Ri, at your service." The dwarf gave a small, stunted bow in response, "I knew your mother."

The lad's face closed off, his eyes becoming wetter and wetter by the second. Flailing and out of his element, Nori gave an awkward chuckle, "Um, I have candies from Gondor? Would you like candies, laddie?"

Bilbo blinked, tears receding as he regarded the dwarf with suspicion, "Gondor? That's far away."

"Yes, uh, it is. That's why it took me so long to get here."

The fauntling was silent for a moment before he looked up with big, sad eyes, "I thought you didn't want me, Aunt Camellia said no one did. She said everyone only wanted papa's...my smial. That I was no good like..."

Nori's heart nearly cracked in two when he got the gist of what the lad meant, and he dropped to a knee so he could look into shattered brown eyes, "Your 'ma was the bravest person I ever knew. Saved my life, she did, in Rohan. Right before she came back to marry your 'da. She was a kind, amazing hobbit and this Aunt Camellia is clearly the mad one."

Hopefully for Camellia, she'd never even see Nori. The meeting would not end well for her, he knew, as he looked at the teary eyed brat below him.

He got a small smile for his troubles, a bare flick upwards in the lad's lips, "Can you tell me about Gondor? And the candies?"

"Aye, of course, lad. Should you let me in first?"

The fauntling startled slightly before realizing they were both still standing in the doorway, all of Bagshot Row shooting them the very same judging looks Nori suspected Bella got quite often. Bilbo flushed brightly, even the tips of his pointed ears getting a dusting of pink as he nearly stumbled over himself to recede into his home. Nori couldn't laugh, couldn't even chuckle, because it was such a sad sight. A child, a mere babe truly, so unsure and scared and  _alone_. He tried to imagine Ori like that, but it hurt his heart to much to even think of. 

"P-please, come in!" Bilbo pushed the door shut behind him, the little fauntling racing for the kitchen as Nori dropped the sword on his belt by the door before following him.

The lad came rushing back out, a plate of biscuits in hand. When Nori bit into one they were stale. He still ate it, for the hobbit's wide brown eyes were staring at him intently, but he gratefully declined a second. He wasn't eating right, the dwarf thought as he scanned the kitchen. There were no pots out or even in the sink, despite it being near noon. Hobbits ate seven meals a day, he knew that much from Bella, but the boy didn't even look like he was eating three good ones. Who in Mahal's name was looking after the child for the past two seasons? The dust bunnies?

"You said you had candies?" Bilbo blinked hesitantly, "May I...May I have one, please, Master Dwarf?"

"Nori, lad." He dug around in his pockets, bringing out the slightly melted Gondorian chocolate, "And aye, you can have all of it."

The faunt delicately unwrapped the foil covering them, looking up as though Nori might change his mind, "Thank you, Mister Nori."

" _Just_ Nori, none of that Mister business." The dwarf waved a hand, "Now, you said yer grandpa told you about me?"

"Yes." Bilbo nodded hesitantly, "He...He said you were mama's best friend, and that she and papa trusted you very much."

He was an educated one, he'd give the lad that much. Bella had clearly gone above and beyond to try and make him as 'respectable' as possible, probably at the behest of her husband. Nori scratched his beard, making the delicate bead chime against his short, stubbed nails. Dori always got on him about his simple beard, about his simple hair. Nori was a thief, above all else. He had little use for flashy accessories or anything that would draw notice to him. The only bead he wore was his family bead, connecting him to his clan. Not like he'd ever known anyone other than his brothers, especially not his parents; they'd died soon after Ori was born and Nori could hardly remember anyone but Dori raising them, mother hen that he was. Carefully undoing the braid, he slipped off his family bead. He could create another when they reached the Blue Mountains, he supposed.

"Lad, you know what your 'da and 'ma passing means, right?" The fauntling gave a sad tilt of his chin and Nori forged on, "Yer mother was a great friend of mine, and I owe her much, including my life. It would be an honor ta care for you until your reach maturity."

Bilbo frowned, "Would I have a family again? Would I have to stay in the shire?"

Nori stilled, looking at the faunt with a careful eye, "We wouldn't have to stay in the shire, no. I have brothers back in the Blue Mountains, an elder and younger. They'd be more than pleased to have ye."

"Really?" Bilbo blinked, "They aren't mean like the Sackvilles are they? Or the Proudfoots?"

Ruthlessly squashing the desire to inflict bodily harm on whoever'd been so cruel to an orphaned  _child_ , Nori smiled and reached across the table to ruffle the hobbit's curls, "No, they aren't mean, though Dori's overprotective at best. Ori, my younger brother, he's a kind brat. Loves readin' and writin', want to be a scribe."

The faunt's eyes lit up, "I love reading! Papa...he taught me, he'd read to me in his armchair while mama cooked supper."

"I'm sure he'd be happy for you to have a readin' buddy." Nori smiled slightly at the longing on the child's face, "We'd have to get things squared away, then we could leave."

"You...do you think mama and papa would be mad at me for leaving?" Bilbo looked up at him, face young and innocent and scared, "Would they want me to?"

He thinks he knew of Bella's intentions when she wrote that letter, so he just sighs, "They'd want ye to be happy."

"I'll...I'll have to pack..."

"Aye, take anything important with ye. You'll have quite a few years in the mountains, unless ye want to return to the Shire of course."

The faunt slipped off his chair, feet padding off silently down the too empty hallways. Nori followed after, curiosity piqued, and entered a room that was filled to the brim with books and scrolls. The lad already had a satchel open, one with the initials B.T. engraved in the leather. Bella's, he realized, as the lad grabbed a few story books and carefully packed them in before slipping past Nori and heading on into another room. His bedroom, the dwarf realized, and decided to wait outside the door. He heard the lad shuffling around with clothes and Nori rolled the bead over his knuckles to pass the time, an old habit he'd picked up as a dwarfling in Bree.

The hobbit blew out the candles in his room before approaching a different door, two doors down from his own. He sent a look to Nori that made the poor faunt look so small and wane, "This is mama and papa's room."

Nori shifted on his feet, the boots squeaking against the clean floor, "Lad, ye don't  _have_ to go in there."

"Yes, I do. I have to get my seals." 

He disappeared into the room, lighting a single candle in his hand to see. Son of an orc, like Nori knew what  _those_ were. Some hobbit custom? Did they serve for identification? The fauntling returned from the room, closing the door gently behind him, and retreated quickly to the sitting room. The dwarf followed close after, confusion still nipping at him as the hobbit took the glass lip of the box to stare at what was inside. Nori glanced over his shoulder, seeing two circular pieces of iron engraved, laying on a blanket of a soft blue, silky material. They both had flowers wound around the edges, with strange symbols inside that Nori didn't recognize. They weren't very big either, could fit in the palm of the fauntlings hand, but were clearly well made and kept.

"A hobbit's seals...it's like our identity. The parents make them before a faunt is born." Bilbo's eyes flickered down to the iron pieces, "We're supposed to get them on our thirty-third birthday, when we reach maturity. Our parents give them to us as a gift, before the party begins."

Except Belladonna and her husband would never get to do that. Cringing slightly, Nori returned his focus on the seals, "What do they mean?"

"This one's for mama's family, the Tooks." Bilbo smiled slightly, "They're very nice. Everyone says they're mad, but they're the kindest lot I know besides the Brandybucks. Gladiolus, it represents strength and determination. Lavender, for the promise of new adventure. Daffodil for chivalry and Calla Lily for nobility."

"Nobility?" Nori's brows raised, "Your 'ma was nobility?"

Bilbo shrugged, "As close as you can get in the Shire, I guess. She's the daughter of the Thain. The Tooks have always been the line of the Thain, the title passes to the oldest child when the last retires or passes. We don't really have any true nobility, though. The Shire only has important families that are like it, papa says."

Mahal's beard, he'd been running around from Rohan to the Blue Mountains with the basic equivalent of a princess. Dori would kill him.

"Your 'da's? What's that...stuff mean?"

The fauntling smiled slightly at his ignorance of the flora and indulged the dwarf, "It's the Baggins seal. Amaryllis for good luck, Geranium for comfort, Chrysanthemums, representing truth and honesty, and Magnolia for dignity. The way they're arranged on each seal is important too, but it's real complicated. All together it shows what the family cherishes and considers important."

Almost like a bead, Nori thinks as he looks down at the flowery pieces of cheap metal, iron of all things. Who would put something that important on iron? He scoffs internally, because while he has no knowledge of flowers,  _hobbits_ have no knowledge of metals. Kneeling beside the fauntling who was still sat on a stool, staring at the seals with sadness in his eyes, Nori held out the bead to him. Bilbo looked up, tilting his head in confusion, before accepting the golden bead into his palm.

"What's this?"

"A family bead." Nori shrugged, "If I'm going to take care of ye, I'd better adopt ye the dwarven way. We wear these in our beard and hair to show what family we belong to, our status, our craft. All kinds of things, really."

"Like seals?"

"Almost." The dwarf corrected, "We have a lot more than two, usually. I just wear the one, but many have up to five depending on marital status and all that."

"You have a bead for when you marry?" Bilbo wrinkled his nose slightly, "Sounds complicated."

The dwarf snorted, "Ye should see courtships, lad. Anyways, if ye'd like, I could braid this into yer hair. It'd show everyone who yer guardian is, once we reach the mountains."

"Can I still cut my hair?" The fauntling looked up with serious eyes, "Papa says respectable hobbits keep their hair trimmed all nice."

"Yer gonna stick out like a sore thumb, but if ye'd like to cut yer own hair, ye can. Yer not gonna get a dwarf to do it for ye, though."

"Why not?" Bilbo pouted slightly, looking up from the bead, "I can't reach the back of my head, you know!"

"Hair is sacred for dwarrows. Cuttin' yer hair means ye've been disgraced, or it's done as a punishment."

Bilbo blinked, "Oh."

"Do ye want me to braid it?"

Brown eyes looked at him as the fauntling nodded his head slightly, "Mama talked about you a lot. I figured when grandpa said a dwarf was coming, it'd be you. I think I trust you, if mama did then I can."

Nori carefully parted a section of the hobbit's hair, the honey brown curls a bit longer than most other male hobbits his age. He figured no one had been there to cut it for him, so he just left it and the length was now in that awkward grown out stage. It'd be longer soon enough, but for now Nori did a simple braid right behind the lad's left ear that hung down just past his earlobe so everyone could see the bead. He was claimed by the Clan 'Ri by having that in his hair, adopted into their family in all but ceremony, and Nori sincerely hoped Dori didn't pitch a fit about it. Mahal knew his brother was a traditionalist, but as the little hobbit tucked against his side later that night and dozed off, he had a feeling the lad would have both his brother's wrapped around his little hobbit fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got my flower info from www . flowershopping . com / FlowerMeanings / (remove the spaces and search it up if you want to read some, it's all very interesting)!
> 
> Also, song excerpt at the beginning is Light by Sleeping at Last. It's very fitting for this story to be perfectly honest. Nori's just trying his best to not make the poor orphaned fauntling cry, and Bilbo's ready to stop crying and run away from the Shire. Next chapter we reach the Blue Mountains and meet Dori and Ori officially! I wonder what other trouble a hobbit fauntling would get up to in the Blue Mountains lmao.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!


	3. Silmegil

_"I will soften every edge_   
_I'll hold the world to its best_   
_And I'll do better"_

"Absolutely not."

Bilbo looked at his grandfather with wide, disbelieving eyes and Nori swallowed down the urge to spit out some curses in khuzdul. 

"Grandpa!" Bilbo protested, stepping forward slightly, "Mama wanted-!"

"She was mad, end of story. Haven't the foggiest why Bungo even married her." The hobbit Nori now knew to be this dreaded Camellia sniffed, "A waste if you ask me-"

Bilbo stiffened beside him, and Nori reached a hand down to fall firmly of the faunt's shoulder. He looked up with teary, wide eyes and the dwarf had to look away as his stomach twisted in disgust. To talk about the lad's parents like that, well, Miss Camellia Sackville-Baggins had better hope she remembers to lock her door. It'd be a shame if all her fine cookware went missing and got sold in Bree. Ori  _did_ like that fine paper the notary shop sold there, after all.

"Well, it's just right that no one asked you then." A hobbit lass, who happened to look so much like Bella it nearly made Nori's heart stop, stood up in outrage, "I think we all know what  _you_ want Camellia Sackville."

"Baggins, Mirabella!" The blonde hobbit stood up as well, shrilling as her husband cringed beside her, "Camellia Baggins, you outrageous Brandybuck!"

"At least my birth family was worthy of my husband's name being bonded to theirs." Mirabella simpered lightly, a dangerous gleam in her eye, "You say my sister brought shame upon the name Baggins? Clearly, you haven't met your own family, dear. Half of you don't even have seals-"

Camellia let out a strangled noise and every hobbit seated around the horseshoe-esque table let out a gasp, looking at Bella's sister like she was an orc standing in the middle of their council room, "I think that's enough from you!"

"Is it though?" Another hobbit lass stood, he dark eyes even harder than Mirabella's, "Yet you stand there besmirching my own sister's propriety and honor-"

"She had no propriety, Donnamira!" Another hobbit snapped, one who Nori didn't know the name of nor recognize in the slightest, "She ran off before her wedding, only coming back the day of-!"

"Can it, Proudfoot. You as well, Sackville. Enough harassing my sisters, living and dead." The meanest voice yet snapped, a hobbit with dark curls and darker eyes standing up with a frown, "Father, Bilbo is right. Bella wanted Mister Nori to look after her faunt. Bungo agreed. With both of them gone to the Gardens and unable to change their wills, it would be both against the law and our morals to keep their final wishes from coming to pass.  _Especially_ considering who's been asking for custody."

He sent a scathing look towards Camellia at that point, and another hobbit lad stood up, nodding firmly, "I agree, Isengrim."

"Thank you, Hildigrim." Isengrim then turned to their father, who was beginning to look very tired, with a small smirk and opened his mouth to speak. 

"You know what I think?" The Proudfoot from earlier rose from his chair, sneering slightly as he interrupted the hobbit lad, "I think there are  _far_ too many Tooks here, and that there is a clear bias-!"

"Come now, no need to be sensitive over the fact that the Proudfoots have only been on the council for the past hundred years." Donnamira gave a sweet smile.

Mirabella nodded, hands clasped together is faux sympathy, "Yes, not all can have a lineage as long and noble as the Tooks. Truly, you needn't feel threatened."

"Guido, I'd suggest you sit back down. The Proudfoots hardly need any more scandals." Isengrim, already quite tall for his race to begin with, looked down at the other hobbit across the table.

"S-Says the  _Took_!"

Nori watched in morbid curiosity as the Took siblings tore apart any and all opposition. It was quite methodical, for while hobbits seemed to use pretty words and flowery gestures and symbols, this bunch seemed utterly ruthless. To think of hobbits as  _ruthless_ made him chuckle, in all honesty, but this lot fit the ticket. It made sense, for Bella was the eldest of her sisters and probably helped raise them to be as rambunctious as she. Glancing at the two brothers who had spoken, well, he guessed she had to have learned that attitude from  _someone_ , and who better than elder brothers? They were always the best at corrupting the youth, and Nori _was_ speaking from experience. 

When the Thain had sputtered at his request and demanded something called a Shire Moot, Nori wasn't sure what to expect. Certainly not a dozen-odd Tooks and scattered hobbits from other families gathering around a table and ripping each other apart in kind, subtle ways. Or, if he were talking about the Tooks, not so kind and not so subtle ways. He'd been in the shire for all of a week and it seemed that while the Tooks and Brandybucks were regarded as the least proper of all the hobbits in the Shire and Buckland, they were the most respected and revered. Something about Fallohidish blood, Bilbo had said, but Nori didn't know what that meant. Mahal's beard, he didn't know what half the things these hobbits said meant. He just knew to keep his own mouth shut so he didn't offend their delicate sensibilities before he could escape with a faunt in tow, though it seemed Donnamira and Mirabella were taking care of all the offending for him.

"Thain Gerontius!" Camellia finally called out over the raucous uproar that had filled the council hall, "Please, control your family!"

It was the wrong thing to say, even Nori could tell that from the Took girl's smug smiles and Isengrim and Hildigrim's humor-filled eyes. Gerontius Took stared her down long enough that she dropped back into her chair, cowering beside her embarrassed husband, Longo Baggins, before the old hobbit turned his eyes to Bilbo and his gaze softened.

"I don't want to see you go, grandson, but my children are sadly correct." He sighed and stood, looking at Nori with a chilling gaze, "I will allow this on the account that Belladonna's will is specific. Her faunt should live where he sees fit under the supervision of  _you_ , Mister Nori, while retaining Bag End. However, I have stipulations before my eldest daughter's only faunt goes gallivanting off across Middle Earth."

"Of course, Master Thain." Nori inclined his head slightly, not feeling as cowed as he probably should have. Honestly, that Dwalin bugger was scarier than nearly all of these hobbits. Apart from, of course, Bella's sisters. If they were even a smidgen as fierce as his own hobbit lass, well, he could see why they had most of the council cowed. 

"I will allow Bilbo to return home with you, Mister Nori, to the Blue Mountains. This falls under the condition that he is fed seven meals a day, receives a proper education, and writes to the Shire once a month. Furthermore, upon his maturity at thirty-three, he is to return to the Shire or Bag End is forfeit. These are the only conditions in which my grandson is permitted to exit the Shire's borders with you."

Nori saw the greedy looks in several hobbits eyes, and he somehow guessed that once Bilbo left they hoped he wouldn't come back. For a race so peaceful and hospitable, they sure could have their downfalls, too, he realized. They cared about comfort and propriety, most of them, like dwarves cared about gold and gems. They coveted it to the point where, well, things could go a bit sideways if they weren't careful. He wondered if the little folk realized that or not.

"I agree to yer terms." Nori shrugged, "Will there be a contract?"

"We shall have a hobbit from Grubb and Burrowes write one up." He turned to an elder hobbit who sat beside him, "Lavender, is Laura available?"

Bilbo perked up at the name, and the hobbit lady smiled towards him before looking to the thain, "Laura is at home with Mungo, he's fallen ill with a cold you know, but my own Hugo would be happy to help."

"Miss Grubb-!" Camellia objected, but the hobbit gave her a sharp look.

"Boffin, dear, and just because you're married to my nephew means zilch." Lavender sighed, tossing a greying amber colored curl over her shoulder, "Truly, Camellia, control your tongue. If I was able, I'd take Bilbo myself, or Laura would, but we're a bit up in age for a faunt. You should be ashamed the way you've been talking, especially about my niece-in-law. Belladonna might have been...eccentric...but she was a lovely lass who saved  _several_ of your hides that winter's night when she and her husband passed. It'd do you well to remember that, and that Laura was quite proud of her daughter-in-law. Now, Thain, I shall go fetch Hugo."

"I'll go with you to fetch my husband." Donnamira gathered her skirts up, "He should be in the gardens with Jago and Jessamine."

That night, when Nori and Bilbo returned to Bag End, the dwarf cast a glance at the young hobbit as they sat at the table, "Why did none of those siblings of Bella's take ye in?"

The hobbit glanced up with wide eyes, "Mama and Papa's wills, mostly. Hobbits are pretty strict about them. Besides, Aunt Mira already has three faunts and is with her fourth right now. Aunt Donna has two, and Uncle Isengrim is working with grandpa to become the next Thain. I've...lost count of all my other cousins, but there are a bunch. The Tooks are a wealthy family, but faunts are a lot of work and money. Besides, I'm already twenty-one. Most don't...Many hobbits don't believe in accepting a faunt after their seventeenth year. By then they're a tween, really, and no one wants to adopt a tween. You can't blame them."

Nori frowned slightly, "Hobbits have big families then?"

"Most." Bilbo nodded, "I'm an odd one, being an only child. Mama had some...complications...and couldn't have any others."

There was more there, from the look on Bilbo's face, but he'd get that story out later. The whole thing sounded far too familiar to the dwarrowdams of his own race, though they were usually lucky if the dwarfling and mother survived at all. It was sad, of course, but it happened. He was just happy Bella and her husband were blessed with a child at all.

"Then why have some hobbits been asking to adopt ye?"

The fauntling gave him a look that questioned his intelligence, and the dwarf sighed in resignation. This brat would get along great with Ori.

"Because they want Bag End." Bilbo clenched his teeth slightly, "They always have."

Nori snorted, "Well they can keep wantin' it, they ain't gettin it."

Bilbo smiled up at him, just a small one, but it was genuine. By the time Hugo Boffin returned with his mother and the contract was all written up, it was well past noon. Nori speed read the contract and was slightly surprised. Hobbits didn't have much business in the law profession, that much was clear. It was short, to the point, and lacked all the legal jargon Dwarvish agreements usually held. The part where breaking the agreement would lead to the cutting of one's beard was also left out, but that much was understandable. After all, he didn't see many hobbits adorned with facial hair. Seemed it all grew on the feet around the Shire.

He walked back to Bag End with a hand on Bilbo's shoulder, the fauntling beginning to buzz in excitement. It was funny to see the change a prospective adventure made for one so young, especially after all the lad has been through. After a long lunch, they'd missed elevensies Bilbo explained plainly, Nori was left to pack up all his belonging in his bag before Bilbo disappeared into the sitting room once more. Following after him with his bag and a coat, Nori watched curiously as the faunt knelt down to open a large ornate chest at the side of the fireplace. He opened the chest gently, reaching in and pulling out a dark green bundle. The material looked rather thin, a deep blue in color, and had intricate silver stitching along the hem. As Bilbo unwrapped it, it was clearly made for a hobbit with how short it was. 

"Mama's summer cloak." Bilbo smiled sadly, "She got it from Rivendell, from Elrond."

Brows shooting up, Nori looked at the faunt with wide eyes, "Excuse me?"

"Elrond." Bilbo blinked at him, "He was friends with Mama. Gave her this, too."

He pulled a sheath from the chest, the dark leather carved with the same symbols sewn into the cloak's hem. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were, in fact, Sindarin characters inscribed in silver thread. He didn't speak a word of Elvish, no dwarf worth his beard would even think of it, but the look of the language was very distinctive. The lad slowly unsheathed the sword, though it was really a dagger to a dwarf or anything bigger. The blade wasn't dwarven made, but he supposed it was good enough for an Elven sword. 

"She called it Silmegil, said that was the name Elrond gave it after she saved two elflings from orcs and wargs back during a less harsh winter. It was before I was born, before she married papa, and she was traveling with the Rangers. They'd gone off to stop the other warg riders, and she came across a lone orc about to hurt one of the elflings. She said she used an arrow to defeat it, but she wouldn't tell any more. They gave her this after, said she needed a proper weapon...I guess I will too, now."

"Your 'ma was a brave lass." Nori reached out and patter Bilbo on the head, "You'll make her proud, lad."

They left the next morning, so early the dew had not yet scurried from the grass. The cool spring air blew through the Shire as the hobbit and dwarf set off on an adventure, only one of many they'd unwittingly come to share.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silmegil means Shining White Sword.
> 
> I headcanon all of the Took children as complete monsters to deal with, tbh. Like...all of the Shire feared Belladonna, Donnamira, and Mirabella when they came into their maturity and joined the council. Especially because their brothers would agree with whatever crazy shit they said lmao and you know they have like ten older brothers so yeah Not Good for the other hobbits who are all about 'propriety' and shit. But also Hilarious for the Brandybucks who are sitting back and laughing.
> 
> Also, I pretty much modeled the whole hobbit adoption system on the fact that not many hobbits have to adopt, and if they do usually they're younger faunts. To adopt a teen like Bilbo would be pretty weird and many wouldn't want to just because of his age.


End file.
